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Monday, December 8, 2014

According to Shakespeare, "brevity is the soul of wit". That being said, I fear this post may be rather long on the brevity (is that really possible), and short on the wit.

The long and short of it is that this has been a week that really got away from me, and if I don't get this post out in the space of a very short lunch break today, it isn't going to happen.

So getting straight to the point, this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we continue our journey with the gorgeous Diana Henry, we are creating Gifts From the Heart. With Christmas just around the corner, it's a great opportunity to explore some of those edible gifts that we cooks like to give to family and friends over the holiday season.

I knew I would find something in my copy of "Salt Sugar Smoke" - in fact I found many things which will make wonderful festive gifts, but I decided that nothing could be as simple to make, nor impressive to receive as a jar of these Boozy Peaches.

Diana's original recipe uses apricots soaked in muscat, but I used what I had - a bag of dried peaches and a bottle of dessert wine. Really the variables are limitless. It's just dried fruit packed into a sterilised jar, covered with booze, and then left in a cool, dark place for the fruit to plump up in the alcohol. According to Diana, these will keep for a very long time, though I defy you to actually do that, and are just perfect for an instant and luxurious dessert. I'm thinking that chilling these before using them would be a nice touch, and a couple of these with a generous dollop of thick Greek yoghurt would be heavenly.

Not sure yet who is going to be the lucky recipient of this jar as a Christmas prezzie, but I'm willing to take offers.

Fill jar to approximately 2/3 full with dried peaches
(apricots, plums or pears would all be good alternatives)

Add one bottle of a sticky dessert wine

Ensure that you have left enough room in the jar for the fruit to plump up. After a few days add more wine if all the fruit is no longer covered.

Store in a cool, dark place until you are ready to use.

If you would like to get to know Diana Henry a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links (who knows, you might even want to join the journey and cook along with us) ...

Monday, December 1, 2014

Every year since I started this blog it's been on my mind to post a Christmas cake recipe but, best laid plans and all of that, some years I just didn't get around to making a cake, other years the cake got made but planning for a blog post was off and somehow posting a Christmas cake recipe in the middle of January just didn't make sense.

This year, with family coming (from near and far) to stay over the Christmas holidays, it's an even bet that my hostessing skills will be called into serious question if I don't produce said cake. Serendipitously, it's our monthly Pot Luck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, and I felt sure that at least one of our IHCC chefs would have a Christmas cake recipe I could try. I was pretty certain that if I looked hard enough Nigella Lawson, Donna Hay, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver and our current chef, Diana Henry, would probably all offer something suitable.

As it turned out, the first place I searched was Donna Hay's website, and on finding her Christmas cake recipe, I needed look no further. Because we celebrate Christmas here in New Zealand in the height of summer, I decided to give my cake more of a tropical vibe than the traditional, rich, dark cake. I used Donna's recipe as a basic template for quantities of eggs, butter, sugar, flour, etc, but I replaced most of the fruit with more tropically inspired dried fruit. In keeping with my tropical theme I soaked the fruit in ginger beer instead of sherry, and replaced almonds with macadamia nuts. I also added some rose water, orange flower water, and almond extract to the soaking liquid, as well as adding some ground ginger and nutmeg in with the spices.

I'd love to show you a slice of this cake and tell you how it tastes, but what you see in the picture is the cake straight out of the oven. It has several hours of cooling in the tin ahead of it, before it could be sliced, and anyway, you know that it's bad luck to cut the cake before Christmas. Of course, there's always a few spoonfuls of the mixture that don't make it into the cake tin, and if what I tasted out of the bowl is anything to go by we are in for a wonderful cake.

I think this cake will be delightful as it is, without any further adornment, but if you like to go the whole marzipan and royal icing route that would be great too. Personally, I'm thinking that Christmas Eve this cake will get a liberal blanket of a white chocolate, ginger and cream cheese frosting - what do you think?

Place all the mixed fruit and nuts into a large bowl, cutting larger pieces of fruit as you go - I cut everything into pieces about the size of the cherries. Pour the first measure of ginger beer over the fruit, along with the rose water, orange flower water and almond extract. Mix everything together well, cover bowl with a clean tea towel, and place in a cool, dark place to soak for 24 hours. Give it a stir occasionally if you think of it.

Preheat oven to 140 degrees C (275 degrees F). Grease a 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin, and line with two layers of non-stick baking paper, greasing each layer of paper as you go.

Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise down the middle and scrape out the seeds, adding the seeds to the butter and brown sugar. Set the machine running, and beat the mixture for 5 to 8 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Add to the soaked fruit, and stir well to ensure that all the fruit is well coated with the flour. Lastly add the butter and sugar mixture, and stir until everything is well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the tin (reserving a couple of good spoonfuls for the cook), smooth the top, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 2 hours 25 minutes to 2 hours 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean - I'd suggest you start testing after 2 hours 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and brush the top of the cake liberally with the extra ginger beer while still warm. Allow to cool in the tin completely before removing and wrapping well in plastic wrap to store. Should keep for at least four weeks.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, or any of our other IHCC chefs, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links (who knows, you might even want to join the journey and cook along with us) ...

About Me

My name is Sue. I am a passionate food lover and enthusiastic cook. I also teach yoga and maintain a daily yoga practice ... a practice which has led to a growing awareness of the need to live and eat more mindfully and consciously. I am by no means a strict vegetarian, but I do consume a "mainly vegetarian" diet and I make an effort to exercise ethically responsible food choices as much as possible. I therefore whenever possible seek out products which are free range, organic, seasonal and locally produced. I try to make most things from scratch, and to keep meals as uncomplicated as possible. Because I often teach classes in the evenings, it's important to me to be able to prepare a delicious meal quickly, from a few simple, good quality ingredients.